Only the Beginning
by Destiny Kitty
Summary: By then, I was afraid. Knowing that you could die in moments, you would be too. Caleb's reflections of the day everything changed.


**Disclaimer:** W.I.T.C.H. and all characters belong to Disney now, as far as I can tell.

**Only the Beginning**

I was young, not even yet a man, when I assumed a place vacated by death and Phobos's treachery. They say fifteen is a tender age to lead a rebellion, but I would do what was necessary, as best I could.

The rebellion is always short of food, weapons, and other supplies because of Phobos's close control of everything. He would let all the people of Meridian starve just to keep his throne, so we have an extremely uneven battle at all times. Not that any of the rebels have qualms about fighting the monsters he employs, but because sometimes it seems that he holds all the cards and we are hopelessly outmaneuvered. This is why we pride ourselves on speed, agility, secrecy, and those tricks that allow us to hold out against a much bigger and stronger opponent. We had the advantage of passion in defending our own land and people, while his monsters fight only for what he gives them.

There is a day in many lives where things change drastically, sometimes for the better, sometimes not. I suppose that day, the day I met the Guardians, was both.

It started with my decision to raid the castle. We hoped to steal a good amount of weapons from the armory, and I snuck in accordingly.

My plan had not included getting caught, but I was seen. It was not too hard to fight off the confused and surprised guards, causing enough mayhem with the dynamite stores to jump from a window. I fell the length of the tower to the moat below, sinking deep into the dark water.

On surfacing my companion yelled that there was a horrible huge creature after me, and frantically helped me to shore. We had to leave much of what I had stolen, but escaped with our lives.

Being chased by the monster guards is often fun, because they don't present much of a threat on their own. We rode as though it was a race rather than a life-threatening situation, allowing adolescent thrill to take our mind away from the sinister reality.

We were away free, but I had more to do. A portal had been opened, one of the first in my lifetime, and I had to see it. Naturally I ran into Phobos's right-hand man there.

Did I say man? Surely this monster bears little resemblance to that title. A huge snake of massive proportions and an evil bearing, he was often the cause of our failed missions. Stories comparing that thing to Phobos himself ran through my mind as I tried to escape this menace.

The other side is strange, so intensely light that I knew at once I was out of Phobos's domain. And it was a mess. _And_ there were a bunch of girls in the brightest colors I've ever seen – I later found out that they were the new Guardians of the Veil. But right then all I could do was yell for them to close the portal as the snake-man dragged me back to Meridian despite all my struggles.

He was thrilled to have caught the rebel leader, as far as I could tell in his treatment of the monsters following him. Not that he was agreeable to me in any way. My hands were shackled securely and they led me away, dragging the chains and pushing me from all sides, inescapable and unyielding.

By then, I was afraid. Knowing realistically that you could die in moments, you would be too. I tried to keep them from seeing my fear, because knowing I was in their power mentally as well as physically would make my situation even worse. It was bad enough to be forced along, forcibly pushed toward the castle of evil, receiving horrible looks from the monsters and the snake-man who had me in his grasp, heading straight for the lair of my worst enemy.

I tried to convince myself that it would be alright over the long, rough walk to my doom. I tried to think that my friends and fellow rebels come to rescue me, that I would be able to do something to save myself. But I knew it would be too difficult for them to get into the castle, and I didn't want them to try if it would just lead to their deaths.

The castle is chillingly dark, for the prince exudes black magic. Everything in the realm has been overshadowed by evil since he seized power, but the closer to him you come, the darker, colder and less hopeful the land is. Somehow, seeing that twisted structure from the road while surrounded by a battle force of monsters is much more intimidating than seeing it from far below, free and in the company of friends.

Inside the public spaces are elaborate, decorous, and convoluted, filled with the overbearing presence of Prince Phobos. Like the rest of our land, it was once beautiful and full of light, but his poison has made it as evil as he. The throne room felt airless and overbearing despite how immense it was. This, I soon found, was because of its occupant.

Prince Phobos is a creature of legend. People seldom see him, so he has been magnified in whispered tales to the prestige of a leviathan by the crushing power he holds on Meridian and her people. In reality, he can't be much older than I am, but he has enough power to hide that fact and simply be the terror of the realm.

The snake-man announced his triumph in having captured the rebel leader, and I was thrown forward in front of Phobos. He arrogantly tried to get me to talk, but I refused – I will never bring down my fellow rebels, no matter what they do to me. I am their leader, and I have to protect them however I can.

My refusal to cooperate predictably just made Phobos angry, and he yanked me off the ground with his chilling, grasping magic, throwing me across the room and against a thick pillar. I fell hard to the cold marble floor, exhausted and beaten. When they picked me up, I fully expected to die.

To my surprise, the guards dragged me away to the subterranean dungeons, which are dank enough to cause disease and smell of death. I wondered faintly how many of my fellows have seen this dark place as they led me to a large open pit. Lowered far into the black hole, I was dropped onto musty hay covering the floor.

I guess they were just going to let me starve down there, but the fact that I was alive and whole and away from their tyrannical attention brought back my spirits somewhat, especially when the foul-smelling creature who shared the prison found the key to my shackles. If Phobos wasn't going to kill me immediately, he wouldn't get another chance if I could do anything about it. I had to escape, had to get back to my people and assure them that they had not lost another leader.

I tried climbing out, tried throwing Blunk, but nothing worked. Then the guards came back before I had exhausted my will and energy fully, and I thought wildly that they were here for me. But thankfully they were not – they merely dropped another person into the pit, right into my arms.

It was a skinny red-headed girl who looked a lot like one of the guardians I had seen on the other side of the Veil. I demanded where her older sister was when she said she recognized me from the portal, but she said it had been her. That surprised me too, because she looked so young, although _she_ said _I_ was much too young to be a rebel leader. What does she know, anyway?

I was irritated and embarrassed, but she was scared stiff. Watching her shrink away from the cold stone walls and shriek at the sight of Blunk, I wondered what kind of realm she comes from to be worried about a little dirt and realized that Meridian was a very different world for her. That let me relax and almost feel bad for her. Of course I was more than a little annoyed to find that she didn't have her powers and couldn't do anything to get us out.

For once, it was convenient that girls of her age move in packs – barely an hour passed before four other faces peaked over the edge of the pit. The gleaming Heart of Candercar was dropped into the darkness, and Wil caught it safely, immediately transforming herself and the others into the winged Guardians I had seen previously.

I was significantly more impressed when they were actually able to fight off the monsters which conveniently showed up just then, though the girls obviously need more work to master their powers. Freed from the pit, I lead them away, allowing Blunk to guide us through the tunnels. We escaped to the portal, and to the other side.

Luckily the girls know their realm, for I would have been hopelessly lost in this maze of close, high buildings and hills and flat rock streets. Everything here seems made of gleaming metal, glass and stone, with little evidence of plant and animal life anywhere. I wondered hazily if the whole realm is as stark and crowded as this, but I was exhausted, and the newly safe feeling made me too sleepily to care much about anything right then.

The Guardians led the way to one of their homes. The girl's name is Hay Lin and her grandmother, who greeted us at the door, was apparently one of the old Guardians. She graciously allowed me to stay in her home, offering food and a place to sleep as well as the reassurance of understanding from her own experiences in Meridian.

My failed mission the night before, finding a new realm, my capture and our escape, meeting and fighting alongside the new Guardians: all these experiences combined to let me sleep as soundly as a hibernating animal despite being in a strange new city. Even all the weird noises and lights couldn't disturb me. It wasn't until I was hungry again that I finally awoke to find the sun high overhead, much brighter than it ever shines on Meridian now.

We have a lot of work and many battles to fight ahead of us, but we will succeed. I promise that someday I will bring peace back to Meridian, with the help of these new allies and my rebel fighters at home. This promise I will keep, or die trying.

----------------fin----------------


End file.
